Fire extinguisher



A'pril 4, 1944. c. H. LINDSAY FIRE EXTINGUISHER INVENTOR Patented Apr. 4, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FIRE EXTINGUISHER Charles H Lindsay, Elmira, N. Y., assignor to American-La France Foamite Corporation,

Elmira, N. Y., a corporation of New York v Application July 6, 194i), Serial No. 344,197

(Cl. 16S- 31) lit Claims.

The invention relates to that class of lire ex tinguishers in which the contents oi an interior receptacle, usually supported from the cap or neck of the extinguisher, are releasedinto the main compartment of the extinguisher to cause the expulsion of the contents of the latter through the discharge outlet or hose.` In such extinguishers the inner receptacle is commonly closed by a frangible disc or seal and opened to discharge its contents as the result of relative movement between it and a piercer or the like. This movement may be caused by the inversion of the extinguisher, in which case the piercer is xed and the receptacle slides or falls against it or so as to be opened by it. Various kinds of fire-extinguishing media may be held in the main compartment or receptacle. Usually, it is a substance which, in the lapse of time by its vapors or otherwise, tends to corrode or produce deposits on the working parts and this interferes with the intended operation either by creating excessive friction for the moving parts or by obstructing fluid flow, thereby making the extinguisher unreliable.

The object of this invention is to improve such extinguishers by removing the causes of such unreliability and this is accomplished in part by the provision of a diaphragm across the top of the extinguisher acting as a readily-opened protecting barrier between the` contents of the main receptacle and the space immediately surrounding the outlet of the inner receptacle or the piercer if the extinguisher is of that type', such barrier being open at the time of operation, sufficiently to allow the contents of the inner receptacle to pass out and closed at all other times` An exempliflcation of the inventionis show-n in the drawing, wherein Fig. l is a vertical central section of the upper part of4 a conventional type of extinguisher with-the invention applied in its preferred form; Fig. 2 a crosssection on line II-II thereof; Eig. 3 a cross-section on line III- III thereof; and Fig. 4 a larger scale section of the piercer mounting. 1 1

The illustrated extinguisher comprises amain receptacle I with theusual hose and nozzle, as indicated, and may be understood to. contain a nre-extinguishing liquid, such as a .calcium .chloride solution. It is closed by a screw cap 2, and in the cap or in the upper part of the receptacle is fixed a post 3 on which the carriage 4 of the inner receptacle 5 is supported and on which such carriage is adaptedto slide. This receptacle is a flask of liquid carbon dioxide, sealed by a disc 5 clamped over its outlet by means of a AThe piercer is made'with a wide flat head" which is held against the at end of the post 3 by means of a thimble-shaped nut 9 screwed onto the reduced end of the post. This nut is so dimensioned as to hold thev piercer rigid against endwise thrust but at the same time leave it free for some lateral movement of self-adjustment with respect to the post. In other words, when the nut S is screwed tightly against its washer .9a it does not clamp the fiat head of the piercer against the end of the bolt 3, and the piercer is therefore free to move laterally to a slight eX- tent. This lateral self-.adjustability guards against the possibility that the piercer, bent or distorted from use or misuse, might bear or rub on the wall of the bore of the clamp nut 'l so as to interfere with the piercing action by the resulting friction; It is therefore a factor in irnproving reliability.

The same thimble nut 9, by means of the washer 9a which is star-shaped as shown in Fig. 2 and of greater diameter than the post 3 constitutes also the means which connes the sliding flash-carriage on the post and which supports the weight of the carriage and flask when the extinguisher is in its normal or upright position, thus serving two purposes. When the extinguisher is inverted the ask falls on the piercer with sufficient impact to out or rupture its sealing disc.

The gas thereby released flows directly into the closed interior ofthe carriage 4 and thence out through the passages or segment-shaped crevices between the neck ofthe carriage and the slabbed sides of the post 3. The carriage rides on the corner portions of the post between the slabbed sides. The washer 9a is notched or scalloped as indicated, so that it does not obstruct the iiow through these passages. It will be apparent, however, that egressl for the released gas from the interior of the carriage could be provided by other outlet arrangements so far as the essential operation is concerned.

The barrier above referred to is constituted of two elements one of which is formedon or attached to the extinguisher cap 2 or a normally xed part of the main extinguisher receptacle, and the other of which is formed on or attached to one of the other parts, associated with the inner receptacle. In the present case the relatively fixed barrier element is formed by a separate member, or stamping, in the form of an inverted cup I secured on the cap by the post 3 functioning as a bolt. The essential part of thiselement is its lower edge or rim which surrounds'the ask carriage and lforms a narrow seat to be engaged by the other element. So far as itsi functions are concerned this' seat orrim could be made integral with the cap 2 if desiredV and as will be apparent; it should be smooth like av valve seat and it can be rendered immune to corrosion in any appropriate way. The other element is an impervious yielding diaphragm in the form of a flange li, borne by the flask-carriage and normally bearing on the seat or rim I so as to seal off the space above it.

This ange is preferably made of a materialV like soft rubber and is very exible but yet selfsustaining as to form. Such a flange will flex open under the pressure of the out-flowing contents of the inner receptacle. It may, however, be designed to be opened by the falling movement of the carriage or it may be opened by the joint effect of both actions, it being important only that it shall normally form aneffective vapor seal with the other barrier element without impeding the falling movement nor obstructing egress from the inner receptacle. Preferably it bears upwardly against the downwardly facing seat element I0 since this arrangement interferes least with the assembly of the parts and also affords a more positive guard against splashing of the contained liquid into the protected upper space.

Being made of elastic material the diaphragm may be readily applied to the carriage by pulling it over the neck thereof and allowing it to contract into the annular groove Ila previously formed in the carriage at the appropriate elevation and so as to make a vapor-tight junction therewith. The facility with which this may be done accounts for the mounting of the diaphragm barrier on the flask, or its carriage rather than on the rim element I0 or cover 2.

'It is moulded with a thickened edge to t in the groove IlE and such groove is located suiiciently far above the lower end of the carriage so that the barrier is not disturbed by the process of renewing the flask. The flask carriage is hexed in its lower part, as shown in Fig. 2, to facilitate the operation. It is pointed out that in this location the barrier is constantly in its functioning position without need for replacement or adjust- Vment at the time of recharging.

The four-bar cage marked I2 is for protecting the ask before and during its introduction into the extinguisher; it guards against inadvertently bumping the flask against the extinguisher neck or any other solid object which might drive it onto the piercer. For this purpose the cage can obviously be variously arranged. As preferred, it is snapped over the rim or bell of the stationary rim element l0 after thefresh flask has been screwed in place, and pulled off when the flask has to be renewed. vThe flask has nov YContact with it so that any corrosion thereof, or

Vof an extinguishing medium to be expelled, an

inner, disc-sealed pressure receptacle, a means vin the container to support the latter, a discpiercer adapted to penetrate the seal of such receptacle, a barrier closing off said piercer from access by said extinguishing medium, said barrier including a rim or seat element mounted on said container and a iiexible rubber-like element attached to said pressure receptacle, the Vlatter element having a separable sealing contact with said seat element.

3. In a re extinguisher having a main receptacle for containing an extinguishing medium to be expelled, an innerV normally closed receptacle, and a support therefor fixed in the main receptacle and with respect to which such inner receptacle may slide by gravity, an opening member in the path of such sliding movement adapted to eifect the opening of said inner receptacle and a normally closed, readily openable barrier normally closing off the sliding surfaces from access by said extinguishing medium.

4. A re extinguisher comprising a container of an extinguishing medium to be expelled, an inner movable pressure receptacle, a xed support with respect to which this receptacle slides and means for opening such receptacle comprising a piercer in the path thereof, and a normally closed, readily openable barrier normally closing off the sliding surfaces from access by said extinguishing medium, said barrier including a fiexible, rubber-like diaphragm element attached to and moving with said pressure receptacle.

5. A fire extinguisher comprising a container of liquid to be expelled, a pressure receptacle, means fixed within the container for supporting said receptacle and with respect to which such receptacle may fall in a predetermined path when the container is inverted, a piercer fixed within the container in said path, and a barrier completely isolating the space about the piercer from access by the extinguishing medium, such barrier including a flexible wall element adapted to be flexed by said falling movement-without impeding such movement.

6. A fire extinguisher comprising a container Yhaving an interior post with a piercer supported thereon, an annular barrier seat surrounding said post, a flask-carriage sliding on the post, and a flexible barrier element carried by said carriage and engaging said seat to form a vapor-proof seal protecting said piercer.

7. A fire extinguisher comprising a container of an extinguishing medium to be expelled and an inner disc-sealed pressure receptacle havin-g a part provided with a bore aiording access to the disc thereof,a disc-piercer adapted to penetrate the seal thereof through said bore and having a dat head and a mounting for said piercer comprising a posi-l or stem element with a flat end, and a thimble loosely conning said flat head against the iiat end of said stem.

8. In a re extinguisher, the combination wit the extinguisher cap having an interior rigid post,

of a piercer, means loosely holding said piercer upon the end of such post',l an inner disc-sealed ypressure receptacle having a part provided with a bore to receive said piercer, and means for supporting said receptacle adapting it to slide by gravity in line with said piercer.

9. A re extinguisher having a cap, an interior e rigid post thereon, a flask-carriage slidingly mounted on the post, a piercer mounted on the end of the post and a single means for retaining both the carriage and the piercer on the post.

10. A fire extinguisher comprising a container,

va cover therefor having an interior rigid post 

